"Does that mean I won't get my order on Saturday?" Saliji said. "We've been very loyal Butternut customers for the past four years. Everything here is from Butternut: bread, buns, Texas toast."

The Texas-based Hostess firm failed to respond to inquiries as to when the Peoria plant will be closed.

"Many people have worked incredibly long and hard to keep this from happening, but now Hostess Brands has no other alternative than to begin the process of winding down and preparing for the sale of our iconic brands," CEO Gregory F. Rayburn said in a letter to employees posted on the company website.

He added that all employees will eventually lose their jobs, "some sooner than others."

"Unfortunately, because we are in bankruptcy, there are severe limits on the assistance the (company) can offer you at this time," Rayburn wrote.

About 100 of those Peoria employees are members of the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union that have been on a national strike since Nov. 9, when Hostess imposed a contract that cut employee salaries by 8 percent.

"These guys gave concessions when the company came out of bankruptcy in 2004. Now (the company) comes back and wants even more drastic cuts from workers," said John Howard, a union official with the bakers' union.

Hostess, the maker of Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Wonder Bread, has struggled in recent years with two bankruptcy filings. The Irving, Texas-based company, noting it has spent nearly 18 months trying to get an agreement with union members, had said it would file a motion Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court to liquidate if enough striking workers didn't return to work by 4 p.m. Thursday.

On its website, Hostess charged that the bakers' union appeared willing "to sacrifice Hostess Brands employees for the sake of preventing other bakery companies from asking for similar concessions."

Hostess also said that "the union's misinformation campaign included giving its members a false sense of hope that a buyer would purchase the company if it liquidated."

"For the past eight years, management of the company has been in the hands of Wall Street investors, 'restructuring experts,' third-tier managers from other non-baking food companies and currently a 'liquidation specialist.' Six CEOs in eight years, none of whom had any bread and baking industry experience, was the prescription for failure," said Hurt in the statement.

On the picket line in Peoria on Thursday, union steward Kravis Pfeiffer said employees were tired of making concessions. "Management keeps taking money and putting it in their pocket. I don't think it's fair to the workers," he said.

Pfeiffer's wife, Lisa, who has been on the picket line with her husband, credited area restaurants such as Taco John's and Subway for donating food to the strikers during the past week.

Hostess, founded in 1930, is fighting battles beyond labor costs, however. Competition is increasing in the snack space, and Americans are increasingly conscious about healthy eating. Hostess also makes Dolly Madison, Drake's and Nature's Pride snacks.

Steve Tarter can be reached at 686-3260 or starter@pjstar.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.